12 Pentecost/Year B
August 15, 2021
Ephesians 5: 15-20; Psalm 111; John 6:51-58 (GNT)
Opening prayer: Lord, we thank you for changing seasons, and for being part of your creation that is full of rhythm and cycles. We pray for eyes to see and ears to hear the lessons you give to us in these periods of transition. We pray for a wise and discerning heart, and the wisdom to walk in your ways, making the most of our days, being filled with the spirit of love and gratitude, giving thanks to God the Creator, at all times and for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (sojourners, Ephesians)
It’s that time of year again, when we begin to feel the movement of change in the air…summer activities are winding down, children of all ages are heading back to school, or beginning school or college for the first time...people are transitioning from summer jobs into a new rhythm of work and rest…many have embarked on one final summer vacation before heading back to wherever home is…to begin again…with a fresh and renewed energy to move forward into wherever the next season may be leading them…
Every day, people are transitioning through seasons of life….seasons of life marked with continual change…seasons of life and death, holding on and letting go, joys and sorrows, light and darkness, beginnings and endings…all around us…
But, even in the midst of all these changes…there are some things that never change….and that is the love of God for all people…and the love and wisdom that begins in God…
A love and wisdom that that guides us throughout all the changing seasons of our lives…a love and wisdom that reminds us that we are never alone to navigate the many different directions our lives make take us…a love and wisdom that unites us to one another, and with all the saints who have gone on before us and even those who still walk among us… a love and wisdom that invites us to walk in the ways of those who have taught us so much…who have been examples to us…of what it means to walk in love, in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards the One who loves us, and gives us life, new life, eternal life…through the gift given to us in Jesus Christ…the living bread that came down from heaven…
I am reminded in the scriptures today of just how God has lifted up His people, in the flesh and blood, to be examples to us by pointing us to the One through whom all wisdom begins…
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we hear the wise teaching about making the most of our days, seeking to understand the will of God, and to turn to the Lord for true wisdom…to be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then, in our gospel reading today, we are given yet another example of the One who was sent to us by God, in the flesh and blood…The One who gave his life for us, a sacrifice for our sin…and an example of godly life… Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”
Jesus was a real person…a person made of flesh and blood like each one of us…he walked among the people to show them another way to live…by following him, in the way of love…He taught them and us, through the examples of his words and actions, the way to love one another, care for one another…forgive one another…He taught them and us, a way of living in love and community with one another, by uniting our hearts to one another…
When we take time to spend with Jesus, getting to know his ways better, being fed by his life-giving words of love, and peace, and joy, our hearts and our vision of a meaningful and purpose-filled life, begins to align with Jesus, and God’s dream of a beloved community…and we are pointed to what matters in this life, what is important, and what truly gives life to the world and its people…
It is Jesus who reminds us…that with him…we are truly alive…even in death…when we are raised to life…eternal life…with all the saints who have gone on before us…
This time of year, when our thoughts turn to the school year beginning...I can remember many every day saints, called teachers, whom I lovingly and gratefully remember for the support and encouragement they offered when I was young…
I can remember the elders and the others in my church family, and in my own family, throughout the years, who also, showered me with love and encouragement (and continue to do so)… Throughout my life, these every day saints, have revealed God’s love and wisdom by the ways in which they lived their lives...by walking in love…and sharing that love generously…
We have children among us here in the church family (I am looking forward to the time we can gather safely with them in the church buildings again!) and children in our community who have been entrusted to our love and care now… we are the grown-ups…we are the elders…we are all part of the family of God….it’s up to us now… to continue to model a life of which Love is spoken…the way of love that is evident in our lives…when we follow in the blessed steps of Jesus’ life and teachings…
And right here and now, in the month of August 2021, that love calls us to protect the children and families around us, by getting vaccinated, wearing our face masks, doing all that we can to keep them well and safe, and to give them the opportunity to join their friends and teachers in school in the coming weeks…
God’s love for us and all his people is revealed to us throughout all of the seasons of our lives…This time of the COVID-19 pandemic is a difficult season of our lives…but we are not without hope and a way to move through this time together…
Even in the midst of all these changes and this difficult season of our lives…there are some things that never change….and that is the love of God for all people…and the love and wisdom that begins in God…
A love and wisdom that that guides us throughout all the changing seasons of our lives…a love and wisdom that reminds us that we are never alone to navigate the many different directions our lives make take us…a love and wisdom that unites us to one another, and with all the saints who have gone on before us and even those who still walk among us… a love and wisdom that invites us to walk in the ways of those who have taught us so much…who have been examples to us…of what it means to walk in love, in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards the One who loves us, and gives us life, new life, eternal life…through the gift given to us in Jesus Christ…the living bread that came down from heaven…
On this Sunday, when we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and as we prepare our hearts to re-member and to receive the living bread that came down from heaven…I leave you with these final words from the Ephesians reading last week…
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Rev Julie Platson
St Peters by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
Closing prayer: The Hymnal 1982 - #488 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
all else be nought to me, save that thou art-
thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
thou my great Father; thine own may I be;
thou in me dwelling, and I one with thee.
High King of heaven, when victory is won,
may I reach heaven's joys, bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.